Yes, my proposed solution is to give ESP in place of detect monster. There would be no real difference between giving ESP to any character with experience level high enough to learn detect monster and the way things work currently. Similarly, there would be no difference between some kind of ESP evil only and detect evil. Yes, theoretically it is a sop to lazy players who just want to have fun rather than hitting their detection button every ten turns and using their noggin to figure out where the monsters are between casts, but I think it would be okay.

I don't know what to make of a claim to the authority of being among the best players in the world, while also claiming to frequently die while having detection and resting. Amazing to me.

Also, I can't speak for anyone else, but I do, in fact, sometimes use detection during the Morgoth fight. Why the hell wouldn't you?

I would like to note that the current Comp character is a mage, and if you want to conserve turns, whether it's to avoid spawns or in an attempt to do well at the Comp, you end up rationing 1 mana for a while, let alone the 6 that actual detect monsters costs. It's a non-trivial expenditure, especially if you ever want to use your mana for something other than detection (though to be fair, there isn't necessarily a good reason to, since devices are pretty powerful and Recharge is a thing).